Chapter Twenty-Eight: Everything To Do With This

Hiro groaned, feeling like his body was made from molasses. What was going on? Had someone hit him upside the head? His vision seemed blurry. A sense of vertigo filled him as he tried to move to an upright position. No to the blow to the head theory, he decided. It didn't feel like that timeline where he'd tumbled down a cement embankment. Chances were good he'd been drugged. He just didn't know why. Weren't they just after Kally? And where was Kally anyway? He couldn't see her from his current vantage point.

Speaking of vantage points, he really didn't have much of one. As far as he could tell, whatever room he was in didn't have much space to it. In fact, if he reached out one hand, he could touch the wall. The floor was made of some kind of metal covered over with paint. He could feel the difference in texture as the coolness of the ground shifted away from his body heat. Was he in some kind of cargo container? And why was he only in his underwear?

No, the idea of a cargo container didn't seem quite right. But he definitely was not at Fred's vacation home, or a secondary safe house. He just had no idea where he was. And he wasn't sure he wanted to roll onto his other side to look in that direction and find out. Chances were good he'd find another wall within arm's reach and he didn't know if he wanted to try and confirm or deny that possibility. He felt a bit claustrophobic as things stood.

The sound of a door opening came from somewhere behind him, giving him the impression that the room was larger than he'd realized. With that unintentional reassurance, he tried to roll over but gave up when his vision blurred once more. Part of him wanted to be sick. Just what had they given him?

"I see you're awake," a baritone voice said as the shadow of its owner came into view. "That's good. And don't worry. The effects of the drugs will wear off soon enough. We did think the trackers sewn into your clothes was a nice touch though. But it won't help your friends find you. I just wanted to make sure you knew the rules. You are currently a guest of ours and I expect you to behave yourself. Your friend's life may depend on it. "

Hiro did turn at those words, though he immediately regretted it as the room spun. He curled up into fetal position on his side. "What have you done with her?" he croaked as he screwed his eyes shut.

The man laughed without humor. "Nothing. Yet. And we won't do anything to her, as long as you cooperate. Soon, another of my associates will come see you and ask you to do something for us. Comply and all will be well. Don't and- well, I'll just leave that to your imagination."

Footsteps sounded, and then the door moved again, slamming shut as the man left the cell. Hiro pulled his arms around his chest, trying, in vain, to pull himself together.


After the initial shock had worn off, Fred and GoGo couldn't help but pace the yard. Fred was there more to keep GoGo company as she worked off some steam. This was now the second time someone had kidnapped their diminutive leader. The only difference was that this time Hiro wasn't in the form of a toddler, nor was he alone, which meant he hopefully had more of an ability to get away. Unfortunately, that line of thinking didn't help much, especially not when they added Kally into the mix. She was a complete unknown. Unfortunately, Fred was in no condition to let off his own steam. He'd tried to use the tracker he'd sewn into Hiro's clothes but nothing popped up, which meant either the device had malfunctioned or had been disabled. Either way, it was no more help than howling at the moon.

The two heroes looked up at their guardians as they returned to the safe house. Car doors slammed, body language speaking volumes of their frustration. Tony was the first to look their direction, pulling his sunglasses from his face. "Well, at least the others are still here," he said, though the two doubted it was meant for their benefit. He sounded almost facetious.

"Did you find them?" Fred asked, his expression a mask to hide his worry. He'd perfected it since the last incident of this nature. He wasn't about to lose it again, not like he had back then. It had caused too many repercussions. He just had to keep reminding himself that Hiro wasn't as helpless this time around. And, with luck, he'd be able to save both himself and Kally. He could almost imagine the two coming back down the drive, hand in hand, with news that they'd somehow outsmarted the enemy. Reality, of course, was never that nice and tidy.

Romanoff didn't say anything as she went inside. She paused only long enough to give Tony a meaningful look before moving out of sight. Coulson didn't say anything as he joined her, having decided to check over things at the safe house one last time before heading out. That left Tony to slowly walk towards the young couple. "I guess you heard," he said gravely.

"Yeah, we heard," Fred agreed. "Do you know who took him?" His expression remained carefully neutral, though there were hints of anger and frustration behind his eyes. He wondered if the others were being told as well, or if Romanoff and Coulson were bent on keeping mum.

Tony shook his head. "Whoever they were, they were professional. They had a second car waiting and were long gone before we even caught up with the first one. No, however these guys were, we're probably going to have a hard time tracking them down. It wouldn't surprise me if they were working with the two from Stark Tower though." He frowned at the idea before shaking his head and following after the other agent. "You should probably stay inside. At least for now," he added as an afterthought.

Fred cradled his arm, wincing as he subconsciously formed a fist with his wounded side, tightening the muscles. If whoever had taken them was professional, chances were good it would be that much harder for Hiro to find a way out of things. He didn't even bother mentioning having sewn trackers into the teen's clothes, much like Tadashi had. If they didn't ping for him, chances were good they wouldn't work for Tony either. "Come on," he urged his companion. "We might as well go inside and see if they can tell us anything more." He wasn't sure if he could weasel it out of anyone, but at least they could listen.

GoGo popped her gum, eyes hard as she realized Fred was right. Storming around outside wasn't going to change facts. And the sooner they got more information the sooner they could come up with a game plan. No one was sitting this one out. She doubted anyone could keep Fred from being a part of any rescue attempt, even with the bum shoulder. He'd find a way. He was just that stubborn. "Yeah," she said, giving him a quick nod of the head. She strode back to the house, Fred trailing behind her.


Kally groaned, feeling much like she had the first time after coming to from being drugged. Except this time didn't seem to hold the intense mood swings, even if the urge to hurl was just as strong as the first time around. Apparently the formula was different. She still felt a bit confused, but not like before. Part of her had to be adapting to this for her to remain so calm.

She found herself facing a metal wall painted sterile grey, the floor underneath her made of the same substance. She wasn't sure how she knew. She just did. It was likely some kind of steel, strengthened with something else. Another thing she realized, still not sure how, was that she was underground, several levels down, to be exact. And that didn't bode well.

Just as she'd somehow been able to defend herself back at Stark Tower, she felt her body tingle in an unfamiliar, yet not entirely unpleasant way. The drugs didn't seem to dampen it at all, though it kept her body from responding the way she wanted it to. It almost felt as though all her other senses were heightened as a sort of apology for her inability to move.

Footsteps sounded from somewhere outside her cell. She wasn't sure it was a permanent arrangement and hoped it wasn't. But the steps told her more than she cared to learn at the moment. They were purposeful, direct. Whoever owned the feet making that noise felt confident in their ability to get whatever job done.

The door to her cell opened and the footsteps stopped a few paces into the room. "Good. You're awake. It would seem we timed things just right. Your little companion is also awake. But don't worry. We won't hurt either of you, if you cooperate."

A chill ran down Kally's spine at these words. There was a hint of malice under the supposedly soothing tone. This man, whoever he was, had no intention of fulfilling any promises he might make with her. Well, with maybe the exception of not hurting Hiro so long as she cooperated. She wasn't sure on that point yet though. "What do you want?" she hissed through clenched teeth. The nausea hadn't abated just yet and it made moving difficult.

She could feel the man move a few more paces into the room, stopping to squat near her shoulder, just out of eyesight. "You'll find out in due time. We just wanted to let you know the rules for your stay here. Don't do anything stupid or you and your friend will both regret it. I'll be back when the drugs have run their full course to let you know what we want from you."

Kally felt her heart squeeze at his words. "Hiro has nothing to do with this," she protested. "Why not let him go?"

The man straightened back to his full height, his shadow falling over her. "He has everything to do with this. Just as you do. Try and figure out what if you can. We'll be in touch." With that, he turned and left the room, the door sealing behind him.


"What do you mean you're not going to tell us?" Wasabi complained as he stared at Coulson and Romanoff. This was so unacceptable, he was about to lose a gasket or spring a leak in his brain matter. "This is Hiro we're talking about! We know he's missing already, so why is it such a big deal for us not to know what's really going on?"

The two agents exchanged glances, barely noticing as Tony, GoGo, and Fred joined the whole group in the sitting room. "This isn't something you should become involved in," Coulson finally said. "Just leave it to us. We'll handle it."

GoGo moved into view, her expression hard as she popped a gum bubble. "Let you handle it? So far you guys have done a bang up job. Besides, it's our job to look after Hiro. And if Kally's with him, she becomes our responsibility too. You can't just shove us aside like trash."

Phil looked less than pleased with this turn of events. "We're not shoving you aside like trash. We're trying to protect you. Hiro and Kally might not be the only targets."

Honey wrung her hands. "That may be true, but why didn't they take advantage of your absence to come back for us? I hate to disagree with you, but I think they got exactly who they wanted."

Baymax simply stood nearby, taking in the differing data presented him. To say everyone was upset would be an understatement. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be much he could do about any of this. He hadn't been there to scan the kidnappers, which would have made finding them easier. But there were some things he could do. "I believe Honey Lemon makes a valid point," he stated.

All eyes turned to the vinyl robot, each of the agents contemplating him. Out of the entire room, Baymax was the most likely to have a clear head. He didn't have emotions. Well, him and JARVIS, Tony corrected in his head. Not that JARVIS was saying anything in his portable state in Tony's cell phone.

"You know, I think he's right," Tony finally sighed as he moved further into the room to fall back into a couch. "I think they got exactly who they wanted to."

Fred rubbed the toe of one of his shoes on the floor, making it squeak slightly. He cradled his arm in its sling. "So, um... what exactly does that mean for Hiro and Kally? Who took them, and why?"

Natasha's eyes hardened. "That's what we're trying to find out." She seemed more than ready to burst out of the house right at that moment, but part of her knew these guys needed answers. "Okay," she relented. "We were able to trace them as far as an abandoned car several miles down the road. We've got a team heading there now to work forensics. Maybe they'll find a clue, though I somehow doubt it. These people, whoever they are, are good."

"What about those guys from back at the tower?" Stark asked, looking at Coulson.

Coulson shifted his feet before answering. "They're both still unconscious," he admitted. "We've run their prints and DNA. So far, we haven't come up with anything. They're not on any database, which, unfortunately, doesn't necessarily mean anything at all."

Tony nodded. "Square one then," he sighed. "So, what do we know?"

"We know they waited until this week to attack," Wasabi hazarded. "They could have tried any other time, though this convention gave them, whoever they are, the best opportunity to get both Hiro and Kally with the least amount of effort. It's the only time they were both in the same place. In a way, we just made it easier by encouraging them to hang out together."

GoGo nodded at this logic. Chances were good the two would have been taken at this event, regardless of if they knew each other or not. But Wasabi was leaving out something important with that line of thinking. "But since they know each other, it changes the original dynamic. I'd be very surprised if Hiro didn't have a bit of a crush on Kally, which means he'll do whatever it takes to make sure she's safe. And even though he's not exactly the best in a physical fight, his brain could more than make up for that."

Fred nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right about that. It might take him a while, but Hiro usually comes out on top." Despite his words, he didn't look entirely convinced. That or he was thinking back on all the fiascos they'd gotten into in the past that had somehow affected Hiro. Even though he usually came out of each debacle, he didn't always come out unscathed.

"Let's keep going," Honey suggested. "Their knowing each other can also be used against them, if whoever they are figures it out. Hiro will help anyone who needs it, but if they suspect there's more of an emotional connection between the two, they might use that to their advantage."

The three agents watched their guests with growing awe and consternation. These kids obviously knew how to brain storm and problem solve, but how it funneled into something like this was beyond any of them. "I can see you've all given this a lot of thought," Coulson finally spoke up.

All four heroes stopped to turn and look at Coulson in varying degrees of shock, like kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar. Wasabi seemed to experience the worst case of any of them, though GoGo had the most poker face of the group. "Well, that's because..." Wasabi began.

"Hiro's gotten himself into trouble before," GoGo finished for him, before he could accidentally give anything away. "You know he used to do bot fighting, right? And not the normal tournament style either." She raised a brow at Honey's incredulous look. "What? It's the truth. Not that he does that anymore, but he used to."

Natasha exchanged glances with Tony. "Back alley bot fights?" She suddenly found herself in need of reevaluating young Hiro. She'd merely skimmed the files when she'd seen his status as a robotics genius, not bothering to dig deeper. Now she felt she should go back and do just that. It was entirely possible this was somehow related. "Just when did that stop?"

It was Honey's turn to answer. "He gave it up just before entering the showcase about two years ago now," she said with an air of distraction. "It was right after Tadashi convinced him to try to get into SFIT."

Tony sighed. "I can see there are things we've all underestimated about the kid," he admitted. "So we're going to need you to tell us everything you can that doesn't show up in the official reports. It might be the reason they decided to take him. And we'll need to find anyone who can give the same information on Kally. Their lives might depend on it."

The San Fransokyo heroes exchanged glances again, wondering just how on earth they were going to keep their "extra-curricular" activities out of the limelight. At least for now. There was no way they wanted any more to know about that than was absolutely necessary. And right now, they all didn't think it was.